Texas’ controversial state immigration-enforcement bill heads to federal court in Austin on Thursday morning. Senate bill 4 will allow law enforcement to arrest and remove migrants believed to have entered the state illegally. Two lawsuits, including one by the U.S. government, are trying to stop the bill from officially becoming law in three weeks. It essentially comes down to the United States versus the state of Texas – the federal hearing is set to begin at 9 a.m. SB4 was passed by Texas lawmakers late last year during their fourth special session. It will allow state and local law enforcement to arrest people they suspect entered Texas illegally. Law enforcement can jail and prosecute migrants from any country and state judges would also be authorized to order a migrant to return to Mexico, regardless of their nationality and not having any ties there. Just days after Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill into law, a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights Project on behalf of El Paso-based Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, American Gateways, and El Paso County. A motion for preliminary injunction followed in January 2024. Then the Department…

As a ceremony with the blaring horns of mariachi musicians and rhythmic click-clack of horse hooves was about to begin, Mayor Rolando Salinas took a moment to reflect that his Texas border city is “more than just the immigration crisis that you see in the media.” Cowboys and cowgirls from Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Mexico, met Friday on one of their two international bridges to begin a weeklong ride to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. The annual ritual is a point of local pride even as Eagle Pass draws wide attention for a showdown between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration over policing the border for illegal crossings. “It shows you the connectivity between the United States and Mexico,” Salinas said as he observed final preparations for the annual ”La Cabalgata Internacional La Grande.” A few hours later, about 200 advocates were in a festive mood in the nearby town of Quemado ahead of a “Take Back Our Border” rally on Saturday. Connie Hinton, 56, said she showed up with her father from Austin, Texas, because “they need to get the people that are here illegally under control.” The rally, which began with a trucker convoy…

Federal wildlife officials announced Wednesday they will consider adding 10 new species to the Endangered Species Act, including a big bumble bee that serves as a key pollinator across the United States. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said they had completed 90-day reviews of petitions to add the species to the list and determined that listing may be warranted. The finding triggers reviews of the species’ status. One of the more prominent species up for consideration is the Southern Plains bumble bee. This large black-and-yellow bumble bee inhabits open prairies, meadows, and grasslands in the mid-Atlantic states and the Plains states from Texas to North Dakota. It’s also found in the grasslands and savannas in the southeastern U.S., including Florida. Queens can grow as large as an inch (26 mm); workers can grow to as large as three-quarters of an inch (18 mm). The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2022 to include the bee on the Endangered Species List. According to the center, habitat loss and degradation, as well as pesticides, have led to sharp population declines in the southern Plains states, including Texas and Oklahoma, as well as in Alabama and Mississippi….